The Collected Letters, Volume 21

the one white—pure white—the other blue—a sort of light manganese blue, that is to say light dark blue—slightly figured both—two yards and a half of each—not gauze and about so| |wide Then I want if you can get it—if not—never mind—two clusters of auricolas in black and white!!! which are the thriftiest cap-ornament for a person in mourning that can be worn— thirdly a pair of white fur cuffs (or rather the fur to make them)
like yours

I shall not get my woolen sleeves worn and must have some substitute and that is the prettiest—and finally will you get a piece of net and cut me two pairs of sleeves like those you were making the only pair I had vanished since we gave out the washing To complete your
astonishment I expect you to get all these things and send them off on the evening of the same day in which you receive this
letter—!!! In that case they will arrive on Saturday evening—if left till Saturday or Sunday they might share the fate of
the newspapers and not be delivered on Monday till after we were gone1—

I am rather ashamed of such an unreasonable exaction, but necessity is the Mother of assurance as well as of invention. The
Auricolas if you get them will need to be put into a light pasteboard box—the other things will take no harm— Moreover I expect
you to send me a note of the whole cost a little more conscientiously than the one you gave me of your household expences2—the postage I shall be able to make out for myself How on earth is your kitchen going on? Mine does beautifully so far— I have not as yet had a single fault to find with the new woman except that she needs me to ring her up in the morning—confess she cannot awake and “would thank me to raise her” this suits ill when I do not get to sleep till four or five oclock—the having to
wake her wakes himself half a dozen times between that and half after six— She is the nicest tidiest activest cheerfulest little thing—cooks “like an Angel” and seems quite charmed with the place where indeed she sees a good deal of her “lover and female
friend” and is kindly used, and finds the work very manageable— I heard thro Mrs Piper3 that Helen had been laid up with cold and fever ever since her arrival in Dublin! What a calamitous separation that has been! Have you got a waiter4—how are they all going on—we eat Walters pudding today which I had quite forgot—and found it capital— Mrs Amies was here two days ago—unable to get over my looks—I am certainly white enough for all purposes of beauty—

Hanah has been back often but Ann would not let her in last time5 Plattnauer was here two days ago for three hours and a half!! alone with me all the while—talking more like an inspired genius
than a madman—Love to all